March 14th, 2006

Isaac Hayes has quit his role as the voice of Chef in South Park because of his objections to it's religous satire.

It seems that he felt it was fine to send up faiths such as Christianity, Mormons, Jews and Muslims but decided he didn't feel the same way when South Park decided to parody Scientology (his religion).

In other news, cocktails are bad. Need to be up in under 6 hours and I'm going to blame amanofhats and to a lesser extent muskrat_john for any hangover I may experience tomorrow.

Although thanks to Jason for a fantastic evening!

...and to think I was seriously contemplating an early night! :p

Also had a really nice meal at the Excalibur with Don from Chessex and a couple of his staff and also Tom Jolly (creator of WizWar amongst many other games). Have to say that food in Vegas is great. muskrat_john introduced me to a great lunch venue and on Sunday night Alex, Steve and Keith (WotC) had a very good meal at The Mirage.

One of the things about being at GAMA is the mass of announcements that are made here. One of the biggest over the course of the show has to be the official announcement of the Warhammer 40.000 RPG series. Press release below:

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One of the most exciting events in the history of roleplaying games has just been announced…WARHAMMER 40,000 ROLEPLAY

MARCH 14 2006 (Nottingham, England) 2007 will mark the 20th anniversary of the first publication of Games Workshop’s legendary Warhammer 40,000 game system. It’s no coincidence that March 2007 will also see one of the most eagerly awaited events in gaming history – the release of Warhammer 40,000 Roleplay (40KRP)! Rumours have been circulating in the roleplay community for many years about such a game. Now Black Industries, fresh from the success of the revamped Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay, can reveal that it really will be happening, and in a way no one is expecting. Because there won’t be one 40KRP game, but three!

Warhammer 40,000: Dark Heresy will be the first 40KRP game, allowing players to take on the role of an Inquisitor’s retinue. Their task is to uproot the taint of Chaos in Imperial society, to smash dark cults and foil sinister plots. It’s a game of investigation and will be an ideal introduction to the dark and gothic universe of the 41st Millennium. Dark Heresy is just the beginning, however. After this basic game, two further games released eighteen months apart will allow the players to progress and explore the universe first as Rogue Traders and alien pirates, and eventually experienced players will be able to roleplay the devastating warriors of the Adeptus Astartes Deathwatch.

All three games use the same game system, which is itself based in part upon the award-winning Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. Players will be able to progress from one system to the next, as they gain experience and a measure of understanding of the vastly detailed universe of Warhammer 40,000. Each of the games will consist of a core rulebook accompanied by regular releases of sourcebooks and adventures.

Game design is being handled by Green Ronin, the team who helped create the sensational new version of Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay so successfully in 2005, and much of the background is being handled by the Black Library’s team of writers.

For more information as it becomes available keep an Inquisitorial eye on www.blackindustries.com. But remember, heretic: innocence proves nothing.